91³ÉÈË

I graduated from SBU in 2022. During my time here, the school looked at students as nothing more than a way to get money in exchange for an education that made you feel unsupported in every way possible. Professors never had time for students outside of office hours for any large science or lecture class. All the "teaching" fell on the TAs (shoutout to the Orgo TAs, you guys were gods). Classes were also so big that exams had to be taken at 7:15 at night since multiple rooms were needed to accommodate... Read More students across the two lecture sections offered per semester. The majority of professors did not care about helping you pass, and the "joke" (which may be true) is that professors are only there to do research, and there is a clause in their contracts requiring them to teach as well. Similarly, math classes had averages of 35% despite students constantly studying and attending lectures. It comes down to feeling like you are not being taught in the majority of these classes, it is all self-teaching and the resources are limited in doing so. The only place that I had a sense of community was in the University Scholars program, from which I have heard has now gone by the wayside as they pushed the director out.
The school also has very limited mental health support, I know of two different friends went to the ED at SBUH in a mental health crisis due to the academic stress and lack of support from the university. I'm not saying a school should coddle you or just pass you, but students are there to learn, engage in thought-provoking conversations, and prepare ourselves for our careers. SBU does a terrible job of supporting any of these goals and is not worth the time or money to attend (even if you're in-state).
I will say, I double majored in psychology and took a few other classes in sociology, music, and public health writing and I do want to note that while some of these classes had their own faults, they were significantly better in terms of teaching and I had a much better experience overall. However, SBU is constantly slashing funding for the humanities and perpetuates the stigma against these classes and their students, so take this information with a grain of salt.

Overall Stony Brook University was a great school for the price it is at. I am content with the education, services, and campus experience I had. I was able to graduate without being ridden with student loan debt yet experience a fulfilling college experience. They have very competitive STEM programs and a wide variety of skilled professors. The campus itself is quite nice, not too big, not too small. It is quite quiet on the weekends with a large majority of the student base being commuters so do... Read More your best to join a club or two.

Stony Brook University has an excellent graduate neuroscience program led by professors who are passionate about their research and are very supportive of their students. They offer excellent mentorship to help their graduate students further their careers. However, graduate students are paid below minimum wage for the area, and this makes it difficult for them to support themselves and focus on their research. If students were paid a livable wage then it would greatly increase the reputation of... Read More the school.

I transferred into Stony Brook University from my community college to do the second half of my 4-year degree. I was very impressed with the facilities that students have access to, especially the Student Union building which was a great place to relax between classes. It is worth mentioning that this is very much a STEM-focused school and while there is definitely a large body of humanities students like myself, the options for courses can sometimes be a bit limited. I enjoyed most of my classes... Read More and professors, but there were some where it was clear that a professor is definitely not up to standard, but the administration doesn't want to budget for their replacement because it isn't as big of a priority as the medical or engineering departments. Other than a few bad classes, I am glad that I picked Stony Brook as my alma mater.

Some of my professors never returned doctoral class papers to us...never even telling us what their criticism was. Even though I received A's on most of them, the lack of any feedback is both wrong, and questionable.
Also, when I went on the job market, none of my professors gave me any training. Students ar other schools got mock interviews, help with writing job cover letters. I received nothing. There was nothing that year, 2012, or for a number of years before then.
Also, the email policy of the... Read More faculty-there was one faculty member who deluged us with emails all weekend, which is unethical and unprofessional-did not help. I know from conversations with previous alumnii that this was a serious problem before I came.
I did have a few wonderful professors, but they were, again, few. Big disappointment, in general.

Do not come here period. For many reasons this school is has so many flaws and if you have the opportunity to go elsewhere please do so. To start of with, if you are interested in creative subjects: filmmaking, dance, acting etc. this schools creative programs are terrible and if you want to collaborate with students they are known to be rude and stuck up about it because they only want to choose the people they like to be a part of their projects. The clubs and extra curriculars are also known to... Read More be cliquey and if you want to be a board member or a rep for a club the students who run it choose unfairly because they only want people who they deem are physically attractive enough or have a high social media following just to get attention. Along with that this campus is very isolated so if you do not have your own car it will feel like a prison basically Alcatraz. It very isolated from public areas if you want to get groceries or food you have to rely on public transportation and that is very unreliable the Suffolk county buses tracking is garbage and there is a shopping bus by the school but it is ONLY in Sunday’s which makes no sense because Saturday and Sunday would be a good time as well but then again not a lot of bus drivers want to work on a weekend but that’s the schools fault for building their school like a deserted island.

I am a transfer student from another college. I want to get to the point and say that It is almost impossible to pass majority of the classes taken here, especially the math classes. Math has always been my favorite subject up until Stony brook. If you are thinking about attending this college, be prepared to teach yourself the whole way through. DO NOT attend this college if you are considering in majoring in anything that requires any math class. It will be a waste of time and stress unless you... Read More are genius.

For a while, everything was good at Stony Brook. My professors were good and actually taught the material. Recently, I switched my major to mathematics. However, when others found out about it, they warned me that the mathematics professors at Stony Brook were terrible. I wished I listened. I went from an A student to a C- student, and that's with a curve. The professors can't teach and still expect us to know everything. I'm pretty sure the only reason people are passing these kind of courses is... Read More because they cheat. I don't, and I'm ironically getting penalized for it. My advice is, if you attend Stony Brook, do NOT seek a mathematics degree, or any degree that involves math.